Always there for me
by 24isthebest
Summary: Charlotte Gates may be the luckiest girl in the world. She has a mother and two fathers who all love her and will always be there for her, through all trials and tribulations. Abigail/Ben/Riley friendship and comfort fanfiction


Yep, its another NT fanfic.

This one, however is NOT shippy. I really love the "Three Musketeer" thing that Abigail, Ben, and Riley have going on. So I figured, why not add a daughter into the mix too!

I have to warn you. This fan fiction does deal with teenage pregnancy. One of my teenage family members recently went through this issue of pregnancy and it really was a hard time for her. I don't mean to offend anyone in writing this fan fiction, in any way.

I love feedback, negative or positive. So please, give me feedback and review! :]

* * *

Ben never knew that one "yes" could shatter his whole life apart.

Before he found the templar treasure, he could not keep the answer "no" away from him, especially when he asked for funds. The answer "no" was practically thrown in his face at every institution, along with the general consensus that he was a nutcase that needed a psychiatric evaluation. He used to wish that _someone_ or _somewhere_ would give him a "yes". So, when Ian finally gave him that "yes" and gave him funding, he felt like it was a miracle.

He remembered the joy he felt when he found the pregnancy test in his own wife's dresser drawer. He had ruined her surprise, but it didn't matter to him. He was going to have a child and once again, "yes" became the word of miracles.

It was a pregnancy test once again. However, the circumstances were completely different. Instead of finding it in his wife's dresser, the test was in his sixteen-year old daughter's sock drawer. The word "yes" no longer was a miracle, but instead a heartbreak written on a pregnancy test owned by his baby girl.

Most of our life is a series of images. The image shown here is how a father's heart breaks when feeling the most precious thing in his life slips away uncontrollably.

Gripping the test in his hand for dear life, he took a deep breath and picked up the phone, dialing a familiar number. "Riley?" he said as the voice on the other line answered. "I need you to come here."

* * *

Riley fumbled with opening the front door as he barged into the Gates mansion. "Ben!" he screamed, slamming the door behind him. He heard a noise from upstairs, and quickly raced in the direction of the noise.

Running up the winding stairs, he stopped outside Charlotte's room where he heard heavy breathing. Opening the door, he saw his best friend sitting near the dresser with his head in his hands. Quietly, he sat down next to him and placed a hand on Ben's shoulder.

"Ben what's going on?" He asked quietly. "Cause frankly, you scared the hell out of me on the phone and you're still scaring the hell out of me now."

Without a word, Ben handed him the positive pregnancy test. Riley looked at the test and began to laugh.

"For God's sake, Abigail is pregnant again? Well, I guess that means I can't come within 20 feet of her for the next nine months. Abigail was a living hell when she was pregnant with Charlotte."

"Riley…" Ben said, trying to interrupt him.

"Well," Riley kept going, " I thought you both were a little old to be having another kid, but hey whatever floats your boat!"

"RILEY!" Ben yelled, startling his best friend. "It's not Abigail's. I found it in Charlotte's drawer."

Riley's face grew two colors paler. He stared at the test with sudden intent nature, as if he had never seen one of its kind before.

Most of our life is a series of images. The image here is of a man's love for his daughter. Biological relation has no effect on the power of love. In his heart, he was just as much her father as Ben was.

"Look," Ben said, breaking the silence, "I know I must have taken you away from Rachel, but I just didn't know who else to call. I didn't want to call and tell Abigail about it. She has a huge meeting today and it would tear her apart."

"Rachel doesn't mind. She had to pick up Charlie from school anyway." Riley said listlessly, still staring at the positive pregnancy test in his hand. "How could this have happened?" he whispered.

Ben sighed. " I don't know. I thought Abigail had a talk with her about... protection and stuff. I mean, she's sixteen for God's sake!"

"Protection!" Riley said, his face turning red with anger. "Please, you should have locked her in a cage and prevented boys from coming within four feet of her! She is sixteen for God's sake!"

"It's that boy Aaron's fault. I should have known that he wasn't good enough to date my daughter." Ben growled.

" I say we go to his house and teach that kid a lesson. Then, we lock Charlotte in that cage!" Riley said, standing up with his fist clenched.

Silence echoed in the room.

Ben stared lifelessly at the wall. "How long do you think she was planning on hiding this from us? I mean, what if I hadn't been putting her socks away today? I would have never found it." Riley's anger subsided, and sat next to his friend.

"My daughter has become part of one of those teenage pregnancy statistics." Ben sighed, letting tears escape from his eyes.

"Ben," Riley answered quietly, "Charlotte has options. Abortion, adoption, or even having the baby if she wants to." Even though Riley said it, even he knew each word came with harsh and painful consequences.

All they could see in their minds was the cute little girl, with her mother's curly blond hair and her dad's sharp intellect. This situation caught them so completely off guard when thinking of the sweet girl that had captured their hearts from the moment she took her first breath.

Downstairs, they heard the door slam and footsteps coming up the stairs. "Is that her?" Riley asked. Ben didn't need to answer, as Abigail walked into the room and found them sitting on the floor next to her daughter's dresser, with pregnancy test in hand.

"What's going on?" She asked precariously. Riley simply dropped the pregnancy test on the floor and allowed Abigail to look at it. It took a minute for her to process the situation and the test. Looking at Riley and Ben's broken faces, and at the test…

"Oh God." It was all she could get out before tears streamed down her face. She sat in between Ben and Riley, crying into Ben's shoulder while holding Riley's hand at the same time.

Most of our life is a series of images. The image here was three broken individuals finding strength in each other through friendship, love, and trust.

When Abigail's sobs had subsided, she looked up at Ben. "What are we going to do?"

Ben began to laugh a little, but it sounded odd in the silence so he stopped. " Riley and I have already discussed the topic, but we got nowhere. We need to wait for Charlotte to get home."

As if directly on cue, the door opened again. They heard shuffling feet coming towards them, and they knew it was Charlotte. Each person stood up and took deep breaths, ready to face the battle that was to come.

Charlotte walked into the room and grew startled at the sight of her parents and Uncle Riley all standing around her bed.

"What's going on?" She asked carefully, watching the nervous faces in front of her.

Abigail pulled out the pregnancy test and put it in Charlotte's line of view. "What the hell is this?"

Charlotte's face grew pale as she sat down on the bed. Ben sat down next to her and simply put his arms around her, holding on for dear life. "Honey," he said softly, "Everything is going to be alright."

It was as if Ben's calming voice had eased everyone's nerves.

"Dad," Charlotte started to say, before she was interrupted.

"Charlotte, you don't have to hide these things from us," Riley said, sitting down next her. "We'll be with you every step of the way."

"Wait what?" Charlotte said confused. "I need to tell you guys something…" Charlotte once again began to say, until Abigail's voice came in again.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you." Abigail sighed. "It's just that's this pregnancy is going to be hard for you. Anything you want Char, abortion or adoption or having the baby…. Just know that your father, Riley, and I will be there every step of the way for you."

Ben's eyes filled with tears as he took his daughter's face into his hands. "You're our baby girl and we love you."

Charlotte stood up from the comforting circle they surrounded her with. "I'm not pregnant."

Silence infused the room. "What?" Riley asked in disbelief.

"It's not my pregnancy test, I swear." She looked around, trying to assure the worried adults. " It's Chelsea's. She wanted me to keep it here until she knew how to tell her parents. No one is supposed to know yet"

"Chelsea?" Abigail asked confused. " So you're not pregnant?"

"Nope." Charlotte said with a sigh. "But I think she is planning on telling her family this weekend." Looks of confusion still showed on their faces. "Look, I'll take a test and prove to you guys I'm not pregnant if you really want."

"No," Abigail said quickly, "We believe you. We're just relieved."

Ben looked up at the ceiling and then at his daughter. "Sweetheart I'm so sorry for jumping to conclusions." The pain in his heart was immediately relieved. His daughter wasn't pregnant. Another sixteen year old girl was, with two parents who would be just as devastated. Was it selfish to feel relieved when another set of parents was going to go through the same type of pain?

"So," Charlotte said playfully, "Me getting knocked up would be cool with you guys huh?" All she got was angry glares. " What? You guys said you would support me?"

"In your dreams little girl. No guy is touching you until they're forty and have had a full background check. " Riley snorted.

Ben laughed. "I blame you for corrupting her. She definitely got that smart mouth from you."

Charlotte smirked. "Uncle Riley did teach me everything I know in that area." Riley smiled proudly.

"Luckily, Aaron won't be getting a visit from us tonight." Ben said pointedly to Riley.

Charlotte glared, looking at Riley and Ben. "You were SO not going to harass my boyfriend. Please dad, you practically treat him like a son already!"

"Yeah, that changed in a heartbeat…." Ben's voice trailed off, letting a smile grow on his face, as Abigail chuckled.

Charlotte looked at the three adults in her life laughing around her. She thought about Chelsea, who would have to go through this same situation. Chelsea, who's parents would not laugh and joke around after she shared her news with them. Charlotte's voice grew serious. "It's nice to know that I have a mom and two great dads who will always support me." Squeezing in between Ben and Riley, she held her mother's hand in front of her and grasped it tightly.

Most of our life is a series of images. Sometimes, the emotion of an image spread of the pages and touch our souls until we swear that the emotions have taken on an identity of their own. Love and loyalty has been engraved into the bonds between these four individuals.

And "yes", that in itself is a miracle.

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